Thankful
by kendrickyoulittleshit
Summary: A Bellas Thanksgiving one shot.


**AN:** **Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it! And thanks, as always, to Liz for beta-ing!**

* * *

><p>"This is a terrible idea."<p>

"This is a great idea!"

"Chloe. She would never know."

"It's Aubrey. She would totally know."

"Chloeeeeeeee," Beca whined, pushing the grocery cart back and forth impatiently. "Can we _please_ just _buy_ a pie and be done?"

"No!" Chloe looped her arm through Beca's, steering them and the cart towards the baking aisle. "I promised Aubrey that we would make my grandma's pie, and it has to be made from scratch."

"Does it, though?"

"Yes," Chloe insisted, stopping in front of a shelf full of canned pumpkin. "It does. C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I think you and I have two very different definitions of fun."

"Beca," Chloe said, stepping towards her so that they were nearly nose to nose. She reached out and laid a hand on Beca's crossed arms, trailing her fingertips across the cotton sleeve of her hoodie. "If you help me with this, I will give you a brand new definition of fun."

Beca blinked and swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Ever since she and Chloe had admitted their feelings for each other and quietly begun dating, Chloe's usual forwardness had been kicked up to a nearly overwhelming degree. While this was not exactly an unwelcome change, it was still unnerving to have innuendos thrown at you while you were surrounded by old ladies and canned pumpkin in aisle two.

"Fine," Beca found her voice, raising her chin slightly. "But we're buying a backup pie."

"Deal," Chloe nodded, stepping back with a smile. "Now come on. We have to pick up the turkey."

"Aubrey's here?"

"Beca."

"Sorry, sorry."

* * *

><p>Seven hours, four pie attempts, and two changes of clothes later, Beca and Chloe showed up to Aubrey's off-campus apartment holding a platter of turkey and a store bought pie packed in Chloe's one nice glass pan.<p>

"I told you this would be a better idea," Beca muttered, shifting the pie carefully in order to open the door. A wall of sound nearly knocked her a step back as the heavy door swung open.

"Not a word Mitchell," Chloe stepped inside, pink cheeked from the cold. "Not a word."

Beca simply smirked and closed the door behind them just as Aubrey stepped into the hallway.

"Lilly, not every candle has to be lit! Chloe, Beca, hi, come in," she waved them into the kitchen.

Once Aubrey had found out that all of the Bellas were planning on staying at Barden for Thanksgiving, she had insisted on a mandatory "Orphans' Thanksgiving Celebration" for all of them. Surprisingly, Beca had been the most on board with the idea, deciding that even spending the holiday with Aubrey was a much better option than an awkward dinner with her dad and the step-monster. What she hadn't counted on, however, was being assigned to actually cook and bring a dish.

"Just put everything on the counter," Aubrey said, pouring a glass of white wine. She took a long drag, and then frowned at the pie. "Beca Mitchell."

"Yes?"

"Is that a store bought pie?"

"... No."

"Beca, you had one job, and it was not even that _difficult_ of a job-"

"Aubrey, will you pour me a glass of wine?" Chloe interjected, pulling a glass from the cabinet. Once Aubrey's back was turned, she turned to Beca and mouthed the word "_GO_." "So what else needs to be done?"

Beca quickly made her escape to the source of all of the noise, where she found the rest of the Bellas attempting to decorate the small living room area. Stacie and Cynthia Rose were hanging red and green streamers, Jessica and Denise were setting the table that had been dragged in from the kitchen, Amy was attempting to lead Ashley in various Tasmanian Christmas carols, and Lilly appeared to be lighting anything with a semblance of a wick. Beca was quickly roped into supervising the streamer hanging, making sure that none dangled too close to Lilly's handiwork. Once the living room was satisfactorily prepared, Chloe and Aubrey brought in the food and everyone was seated.

"Ahem," Aubrey stood before anyone could dig in, tapping a fork against her wine glass until she had everyone's attention. "Thank you everyone for coming. I think we should all go around the table and say one thing we're thankful for. I'm thankful for all of us being able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Chloe?"

Chloe stood from her seat next to Beca, placing her napkin on the table. "I'm thankful for having all of you in my life. I can't imagine what I did without you."

Beca stood, fidgeting as she glanced in Aubrey's direction. "I'm thankful for kind, beautiful, perfectly-pitched, forgiving friends who understand that sometimes pies explode in the oven."

Aubrey pursed her lips to hide a smile, and the circle continued. Once everyone had expressed appropriate thanks, Aubrey said a quick grace and allowed them to eat. Beca looked around the table after she loaded her plate, taking in the contained chaos that was a Bella meal. She rolled her eyes at her own sentimentality, feeling a surge of affection towards her fellow Bellas as Aubrey's ears turned red at Stacie's explicitness, Cynthia Rose made bets under the table, Lilly attempted to make her dinner en flambe, and Jessica, Denise, and Ashley took turns trying to convey the point of Thanksgiving to Amy.

Beca smiled softly, and Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

"Having a moment?"

Beca rolled her eyes and stood, waiting until she had everyone's attention. "Uh, hi. So, this is super cheesy and you're all allowed to give me shit for this, but I want to add on to my thankful thing. This year, I'm thankful for family. You guys all gave me one I never expected, so, uh, yeah. Thanks."

She sat down quickly to a chorus of awwwww's and a handful of wadded napkins thrown in her direction. She ducked her head, trying to hide her flushed cheeks, and felt Chloe's hand find its way into her own. She smiled up at her, tightening her grip in a gentle squeeze. With this weird bunch of misfits, she'd found family. With Chloe's hand in hers underneath the table, she found home.


End file.
